Straw spreader



may 13 1924.

H. W. NTHOLZ STRAW SPREADVER Filed May 18 1923 Patented May 13, 1924.

HENRY W. ANTHoLz, or Manonann, Kansas.

. STRAW SPREADER.

'Application filed May 18, 1923. Serial No. 639,827.

To all fao/1.0m 'it m04/ cm1-cern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY 1V. ANTHOLZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at McDonald, in the county of Rawlins and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful improvements in'Straw S )readers; and I do declare 'the follow/ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention. such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being` had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhis invention relates to a straw spreader attachment for combined harvester and binder. The primary object of the invention is to provide means for spreading the straw discharged from the harvester and binder over a relatively wide area, so that the straw will constitute a fertilizer for the soil. The straw spreader is provided with means for evenly distributing the straw over the ground. and it is so constructed that it may be readily attached to a combined harvester and binder in the most convenient manner.

The invention will. be ixnderstood by reference to the following description in connection with the accompanying` drawings, in which:

Fia'. 1, is a perspective view of a com bined harvester and binder, to which my invention is applied; Fig. 2 is a cross sec* tional view through the straw spreader; Fig'. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal` sectional view through the straw spreader; and Fig. l is a detailed view of the driving' mechanism whereby power may be taken from the tumble rod of the harvester and binder to operate the belt on the straw spr aider.

Referring` now to the drawings by numerals of reference, 1 designates a combined harvester| and binder 0f conventional design, to which my invention may be attached. The housing` or casing 2 of the straw spreader' may be fastened by connecting or hitch rods 3 to the harvester or binder. @ne hitch rod is shown. it being; here er;1 plained that two hitch rods such as 3 connect the casing` 9. to the harvester and binder. The casing' 2 is shown as a substantially rectangular, elongated or oblong` shell, havingat one end an upstanding collar 4. which is preferably received within the discharge hood 5 at the end of the pass over uneven `around.

binder. The material drops through the opening 6, surrounded by the collar 4, and it is deposited on an endless conveyor or distributor consisting of two belts 7 and 8, passing around pulleys on the shafts 9 and 107 at the respective ends of the casing' 2. There are two sets of pulleys 11 and 12 on the respective shafts 9 and 10, one on each shaft for each belt, and the belts are maintained in spaced relation by the crossing slats 13, which, preferably, have serrated upper edges 14. Between the fiights of the belts is a deck consisting,` of the cross bars 15 and fastened to the sides of the casing are longitudinal slats 16. mounted on the bars. The longitudinal slats are in spaced relation, and they may be adjusted on the cross bars by fastening devices 16', so that the spaces between the slats can be varied. The deck is in the form of a grid so that as the straw is moved along the straw spreader7 it will drop onto the grid and gravitate through it onto the ground so that the belts, slats, and grid constitute a distributor for evenly distributing the straw over the ground. The casing 2 is supported on castor wheels 17 and 17 so that they readily follow the harvester and binder to which it is attached. The bottom edge of the casingv 2 has wide aprons or hinged flaps 1S and 19 and end aprons or tiaps Q0 and 21 so that the spreader may readily The aprons or flaps constitute baffles for preventing the straw from blowing or being; displaced during the gravitation to the ground, it being desirable to distribute the straw evenly over the surface of the field traversed by the combined harvester and binder.

The belts are driven from the pulleys on shaft 9. The shaft 9 carries pulley Q2 outside the casinav i2. and it is driven by a belt from the pulley 23 on the shaft 24, havinga worm 25 at one end meshing with a worm gear 26 on the tumble rod shaft 27 of the harvester and binder.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the straw spreader may be conveniently attached to a conventional harvester and binder, and that it will evenly and uniformly distribute the straw over the surface of the ground as it passes along.

What l claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. A straw spreader comprising a hollow rectangular casing` having an open bottom gated casing, having an open bottom, :L col- 10 lar on the top` surrounding an inner opening, L horizontal endless conveyor Within the casing, a grid between the flights of the conveyor, Aand having adjustable slats to vary the Width of the spaces between the 15 slats, and means 'for supporting the easing. In testimony whereof I afx my sionztture.

HENRY W. ANTroLZ. 

